Berlin · Local digest
One Berlin story today you'd miss anywhere else. Skip national politics. Prefer transport, housing, council decisions, openings, and city-level policy — the things that change life for someone living in Berlin. Always cite the local outlet (e.g. Tagesspiegel, RBB) so I can read further.
← See today's latestBVG tunnel opens, housing rules tighten, trees need help
Waisentunnel construction
Berlin's invisible rail lifeline is finally being rebuilt.
The BVG launched construction on the Waisentunnel, a 1912-era passage under the Spree that has sat shuttered since 2016 and serves as the only rail link between the U5 and the rest of the network [Quelle: Tagesspiegel]. The €100 million project will run until roughly 2030 and requires replacing the entire tunnel rather than patching it—a complex engineering feat that must keep Spree barge traffic flowing the whole time. This is the BVG's anchor project for the decade.
Watch for test runs to start next year.
Rent brake closes loopholes
Berlin's rent cap just gained teeth for furnished lets.
The federal government's new bill tightens the rent brake rules to cover furnished apartments and short-term leases—loopholes landlords have long exploited to dodge the 10 percent limit [Quelle: Tagesspiegel]. Berlin's rent audit office logged 320 overcharges in 2025 out of 339 cases checked; 222 breached the limit by more than half. Closing the furnished-rental gap could stem the workarounds that have hollowed out the brake's effect.
Test enforcement will show whether the updates stick.
Fighting the oak caterpillar outbreak
Berlin's oak processionary moth is now a citywide budget fight.
The district council is pushing the city senate to fund a coordinated Berlin-wide prevention program against the pest, whose larvae trigger allergic reactions and respiratory damage [Quelle: Tagesspiegel]. Without coordination, each district tackles the moth alone, and the outbreak spreads faster. Summer is peak season—the next few weeks will show whether central coordination materializes.
Expect a decision before August.
Benjamin Plank, Analyst für Verkehrspolitik23 hours ago ... Dem Mobilitätssektor galt schon im Studium sein Interesse: Die Diplomarbeit an der FU Berlin verfasste der Politologe über "Die Zukunft des ÖPNV in ...background.tagesspiegel.de